Jerry Schoen, 83, passed away on August 25, 2019

Posted on: October 8, 2019

Jerry
Schoen, 83, passed away peacefully on August 25th,
2019, surrounded by family. Born May 9, 1936, in Caroline, WI, he was
the 4th
of 6 children of Leonhart and Amanda Schoen. He attended Caroline
Grade School and graduated from Marion High School in 1954.

Jerry
studied at the Wisconsin State College (now University of Wisconsin)
– Stevens Point, obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary
Education in 1959 and a Master of Science in Teaching in 1970. He was
a member of a school-record setting relay for the track team and also
active in the glee club. Following graduation, Jerry taught U.S.
history at Menomonie for three years where he participated in the
restoration of the Mable Tainter Theater and met Bernadette (Bunny)
Stehr. They married in 1961 and moved to East Troy in 1962, where he
taught history for 30 years.

In
addition to teaching, Jerry was very involved in the advancement of
sports programs in East Troy. He was the inaugural coach for the
wrestling and cross country programs, coached track and field for 10
years, and was instrumental in construction of the school district’s
first track. He was also the Athletic Director for five years. He
served on Senator Herb Kohl’s nominating committee for applicants
to the United States Naval Academy and served as a Blue and Gold
Officer recruiting high school students to the Academy.

Jerry
retired in 1992 and directed his energies to travel, birding, and
related activities. He became skilled in carving birds and for many
years made an annual pilgrimage to Maryland to enter the Ward World
Championship Wildfowl Carving Competition. His carvings often won
ribbons, but he found more joy giving his creations as gifts or
donating them to charitable organizations to be put up for auction.

Jerry
and Bunny traveled extensively in their retirement, taking in more
than 40 Road Scholar programs to Denmark, Germany, Austria, Costa
Rica, Italy, Norway, and other destinations. Their travels allowed
Jerry to identify more than 500 different species of birds. They
moved to Whitewater in 2001 and spent many an evening together in
their basement, Jerry carving a bird and Bunny weaving a basket. An
avid outdoorsman, Jerry was always happy to be hunting, fishing, or
otherwise enjoying nature. He served on the City of Whitewater Urban
Forestry Commission, was active at Old World Wisconsin, and
maintained multiple bluebird trails in collaboration with the
Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin.

Jerry
will be greatly missed by those who knew him. He was very committed
to family and friends, and despite his occasionally gruff
countenance, his sense of humor never stayed hidden for long. He is
survived by his son Kurt (Jennifer) of Auburndale and their children
Alexa and Lucas; and his daughter Karin (Locke) Wasler of Los
Angeles. He is further survived by his brothers Dennis and Bill
Schoen and sister Mary Leder. He was preceded in death by his
parents, Leonhart and Amanda Schoen, sisters Jeanette Bielke and
Joyce Strehlow, and Bunny, his wife of 55 years.

In lieu
of flowers, Jerry would like his memory honored by donations to the
International Crane Foundation in Baraboo.

Memorial
services will be held at 2:00 PM on Sunday, October 13th
at Nitardy Funeral Home, 550 N. Newcomb St., Whitewater. Visitation
will be held at the funeral home from noon until the time of the
service. A celebration of Jerry’s life will continue at the Cravath
Lakefront Community Center following the service.

Nitardy
Funeral Home in Whitewater is assisting the family with arrangements.